GABF Winners: Rants n Raves

Beer Trader

Well, the winners are out: http://www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/12_GABF_winners.pdf, and like every year there are things that make ya go Hmmm. For me it was category 31 Munich-style Helles. Gold to CB Potts, OK. Silver and Bronze to Full Sail sessions and Kona Longboard Lager? One of my locals won a couple of Silvers, Congrats Chuckanut! What are your Rants and Raves this year?

Beer Trader

well in that vein, PBR won a medal too. The WTF ws distributor of the year was Tryon in Charlotte. They put out FBS last year BEFORE Backwoods. Seriously. I was a 4 pack into Backwoods before I saw a bottle or keg of FBS. and they won distributor of the year.

The fact that Sunshine Pils and Dreamweaver Wheat (both from Troegs) won gold downright baffles me. Can't really stand either of them. Hopback Amber Ale from Troegs however is fantastic, and also won gold.
How in the world did Leinenkugels Summer Shandy win ANYTHING?

They generally seem to do barrel aged sours but given their resources and the fact that the the brewers have the freedom to brew the beer they want, I'd imagine this Barrel Aged RIS would be quite good. Haven't had it myself to know though.

I've never had Zombie Dust, but its classification as a pale ale confuses me. I know the brewer can call it whatever they want to, but the GABF style guide says American pale ales are 4.5-5.6% ABV, and ZD is 6.4%--within the range of American IPAs (6.3-7.5%). So if ZD is "actually" an IPA, why is it earning a medal as a pale ale?